Chapter 65: Artisan Hot Rod (1/2)
Old Li glanced around the auction hall and smiled before speaking. ”The first item that we're going to auction is…” he paused for a second and continued. ”White Rosemary Flower!”
At this moment a beautiful girl walked on the stage at a slow pace and a tray in her hands. There was a wooden box placed on the tray. Old Li held the box off the tray and opened it, revealing a flower that had a fusion of white and red. It appeared to be a lily flower, but it wasn't a lily.
”It's really White Rosemary Flower,” Kadyn murmured, then looked at Khrom. ”Isn't it a Slave Auction? Why are they auctioning something other than slaves?”
”Though the speciality of this place is slaves, they also auction other things. After all, it's not easy to find decent slaves. Something like a dwarf is as rare as the feather of the Phoenix and the scale of the Dragon. They can't run their business just based on slavery.”
Kadyn nodded in understanding and turned his attention towards the stage once more.
”Some of you may not know about the White Rosemary Flower. Let me explain it in a sentence: This herb can awaken an Elementary Star!” As soon as Old Li's words sounded in the auction hall, everyone was left stunned. The silence fell, however, it didn't last long before the chatter erupted.
Old Li smiled satisfyingly, looking at the reaction of the audience. Then went on. ”The starting price for this herb is five thousand dollars.”
”Six thousand!” as soon as Old Li finished speaking, a man on the left side of the hall couldn't contain himself and shouted.
”Six thousand five hundred!” another voice resonated.
”Seven thousand!”
”Seven thousand five hund…”
Kadyn heard the heated bidding and shook his head. ”What a bunch of morons.”
”What do you mean?” Elora asked in confusion when she heard him. ”Isn't that herb precious if it can awaken a star of the Elementary Mage?”
”What do you know?” Kadyn shook his head. ”That old man is a cunning old fox, telling only benefits but hiding the repercussions of taking that flower.”
”Repercussion? What do you mean?” Khrom overheard their conversation, as he was sitting on Kadyn's other side and asked with a confused face. He was familiar with this herb, and he knew that it could awaken an Elementary Star, however, he had never heard about any side effects.
Kadyn smiled, spotting the confused look on his face. ”It's normal if you don't know. After all, some knowledgeable people might not know about it as the side effect doesn't show at the start at all.” He paused briefly before continuing. ”This herb can awaken a star, it isn't worth the price one have to pay.”
”What price?” Khrom asked.
”That person won't be able to become a high-level mage. The speed of mana absorption will decrease significantly. No matter how talented he is, he won't be able to go beyond the Elementary Mage. No matter how much of a genius someone is, he would become trash. I don't think that the old man is unaware of this fact. After all, he is an experienced auctioneer, but he hid it from everyone, for gaining some benefits. He might look gentle and benevolent, but he's a poisonous viper.”
Khrom and Elora left completely stunned, especially Khrom, whose face had turned pale after his explanation. Kadyn saw this and became confused. However, it wasn't the time to ask about it.
”Alright, next item is…”
Someone from the audience had bought the flower. After that, Old Li brought another item and the bidding started again. As for who bought the White Rosemary Flower, Kadyn didn't bother to think about it. He purchased the flower without thinking of the consequences, due to his greed. And Kadyn had no time to be the saviour of the world and become enemies with the people of the auction house. It wasn't worth his time and effort.
”Our next item is a kind of metal,” Old Li said and a girl passed the tray that contained a fist-sized black metal. It seemed ordinary. Old Li peered at the audience and chuckled. ”This item's useless for most of the people in the hall. However, for Artisans, it is a treasure. Let me tell you that this is not any ordinary Rank 0 metal. It is Common Rank, Black Iron.”
Kadyn heard and his eyes lit up. He wanted to get his hands on a decent metal for some time, so he could add it into his Shop Ability. However, who would have thought that he could get a metal of Common Rank in this auction. That metal could be used to make a rank 1 artefact. Though Kadyn couldn't make it, yet. It was just a matter of time. Therefore, he wanted this metal!
”The starting price is ten thousand dollars.” Old Li announced.
”Eleven thousand!” a deep voice sounded from the front row. Kadyn eyed the bidder and spotted a familiar silhouette, Black Hammer. He had encountered him last time when he went to wander the city with Elora.
”He also wants to buy it?” Kadyn said in confusion, as Black Hammer was just an ordinary blacksmith. He would just waste the metal.
”Black Hammer loves to collect all kinds of metals.” Khrom, who had already recovered from his earlier shock, replied.
Kadyn nodded and didn't say any further. The hobby of collecting metals didn't sound weird to him. On Earth, many people loved to collect all kinds of things as well, like antics, coins, paintings and so on.
”Thirty thousand!”
While Kadyn had been talking with Khrom, the bid continued to climb. In the end, Black Hammer gave up unwillingly. He couldn't do anything, as he wasn't as wealthy as those VIPs. An ordinary blacksmith could never compare, not even with the lowest rank artisan.
”Thirty-five thousand,” at this moment, someone increased five thousand in a single bid. Kadyn looked towards the source and realised that the voice had come from room number four. The so-called VIPs had joined the bidding.